Just as three of them were using their health potions, Blue Maple was about to continue the fight when the Gentle Prince suddenly said to him, âFellow, I have to admit that you are quite powerful. Why donât you come with me? You donât have to give me that sword, just give me that dagger.
âOf course, I wonât be taking that dagger for free. I will pay you an appropriate price. When the game ends, you can still continue following me.
âSo, you can decide whether you wish to follow me or not.â The Gentle Prince gestured to three players who had recovered their health. The Gentle Prince was very clear that he wasnât about to fight anymore. Blue Maple was in an even worse shape after that prolonged fight over the past dozen seconds. He was panting and taking heavy breaths, except his eyes were a lot more passionate and radiant than his body appeared.
The Gentle Princeâs conditions were very tempting. Blue Maple could only enjoy his hidden Class for five years, and he couldnât trade that for anything in reality. He would leave the game just like how he came in. However, if he could follow a lord from a reputable family, everything would be different.
âYour gender is unclear. Following you would be an embarrassment.â Blue Mapleâs answer was plain. He was still panting as he spoke, and felt a little strange as he did. After all, Blue Maple was a cold person by nature, and those words brought him a certain measure of enjoyment.
Everyone was shocked when they heard Blue Mapleâs words. Subsequently, everyone except for the Gentle Prince and his people burst into laughter.
The Gentle Princeâs face became unnaturally dark and sinister.
âYou are asking to die!â the Gentle Prince roared as his face contorted, and he charged.
The players who were closest to Blue Maple immediately attacked as their master made his move. However, Blue Maple was still uncannily calm; he remained where he was and awaited their attacks.
Those who went forward first werenât fast. Instead, they were restraining their speed so that they could unleash their strength when they were actually striking at him. They wanted to wait for everyoneâs attacks to land at the same time. Of course, the Gentle Prince and his attendantâs attack didnât follow. They couldnât follow, as one person couldnât have that many people around him at the same time.
Blue Maple could feel attacks coming from all directions, but he didnât panic at all as he locked into his next target, a player who was at half health. Attack!
Just as Blue Maple was about to make his move, the other playersâ attacks had arrived, while the player he was targeting continued charging like he wasnât afraid of dying.
Blue Maple was about to be hit when he suddenly bent down and grabbed one of the bodies covering the dagger and threw it into the air. He blocked the first three playersâ advances before he swiftly evaded the two players behind him, and he swung his sword down at a player who was almost at full health. -235! There was no additional damage from weaknesses, but he still killed that player with one hit.
His blade flashed with cold light once more. Cold Light Slash!
Clang! -157!
Another player parried his attack, but that didnât seem to do much because this player didnât use a health potion, and he didnât have many hit points left. Blue Maple didnât forget to unleash another roundhouse kick as he turned around at the end, and he struck the first player at half health beside those three players.
-149! That player died!
Three players died in a single movet!
The old man blurted out, âYou little rascal! Youâre good!â
Blue Snow exclaimed, â Youâre so strong, gangster!â
The onlookers exclaimed, âShit, whatâs happening? How could three players die just like that? Fuck!â
Everything happened too quickly, and nobody was willing to accept the reality. Blue Maple was about to be struck because he couldnât possibly dodge the attacks, but in the end, he emerged unscathed, while three of the five players who attacked first were now dead. That was just extraordinary!
The old man, Blue Snow, and everyone else were shocked. The Gentle Princeâs men were overcome with fear; they never expected Blue Maple to be this powerful. He was all too familiar with the combination of moves that had killed three players, almost like he had gone through countless hours of training, and his technique in battle was just terrifying.
The Gentle Princeâs bodyguards could see Blue Mapleâs eyes again, and feel that he was something extraordinary. They were truly shaken by what had happened, and they believed that this youth before them wasnât simple at all.
Upon closer inspection, Blue Mapleâs retaliation was equivalent to normal people defeating their opponents with their wits. Blue Maple didnât have to place the body back at the end, because without that limit of three feet, if he had ten feet to move, he could let loose and do anything he wanted. Furthermore, he could still keep the Cold Light Slash for battle. He could also wait for another ten seconds to use Cold Light Slash as an intimidation tool again.
But there was still some risk, because he didnât know whether his opponents had the ability to tie him down. Therefore, what just happened was he pretended to target the player at half health, but he ended up grabbing a corpse to block three playersâ attacks at the front.
Subsequently, he swiftly attacked a player who was almost at full health, but couldnât react in time. A single health potion could only heal 100 HP, so Blue Maple could kill him instantly without employing complicated techniques, such as targeting weak spots. Then, he used Cold Light Slash on another player at half health, so even if that player could react in time, the impact would still kill him!
Blue Maple ended the combination seamlessly with a roundhouse kick at a player who had just struck a corpse before watching two of his companions die. He was still a little off-balance and couldnât react in time.
Many people did know how to calculate and plan, but those bodyguards could tell that Blue Mapleâs fighting techniques were definitely more than just the ordinary kind of powerful, and they absolutely believed that Blue Maple wasnât an assassin in real life. Blue Maple didnât give them the same pressure as a hitman would, and he was too young!
Lastly, their firm kept tabs on all the killers and hitmen in the world. Furthermore, killers and hitmen had to recognize the Gentle Prince, who was a member of one of the most famous families in the world. The Gentle Prince gave out good bounties for hitmen in the real world, and Blue Maple seemed very clueless when the Gentle Prince asked if everyone knew who he was.
Blue Maple couldnât be a soldier, because a soldierâs demeanour and mannerisms would be too obvious, and these bodyguards would definitely recognize one. Hitmen and assassins could mask and fake their mannerisms, but soldiers didnât know how to do that.
âWho are you?â one of the bodyguards asked after falling silent for a few moments.
âIâm from the Chaotic Zone.â Blue Mapleâs answer was simple, and everyone could tell that his tone was very casual, even as he huffed and puffed.
âYou donât have to say anything more. Let me guess, youâre a newly trained killer?â that bodyguard continued.
Blue Maple said nothing, and shook the sword in his hands several times. He meant to say that a trained killer wouldnât be thinking about anything else, and he would choose the Class that he was most familiar with: Thief!
âThatâs good, if youâre not a killer.â That bodyguard seemed to be a little relieved as he spoke. Yes, he was afraid that Blue Maple was a trained killer, because they wouldnât feel comfortable or assured in the real world otherwise. There were many hitmen and trained killers in the world today, and they didnât want to have to deal with someone like that. They were particularly afraid of trained killers who held grudges. These bodyguards could feel that if they met Blue Maple in real life, they would probably meet their ends via high-technology weapons.
âOh, that scared me. I thought this little gangster was a trained killer.â Blue Snow patted her petite chest as she stood by the village entrance, placating her nerves. Blue Snow was also afraid that Blue Maple was a cold-blooded killer who held grudges. She glanced at Blue Maple, and blinked again and again as she began to wonder what Blue Mapleâs actual identity in real life was.
âTch, keep going after him! I donât care if heâs a trained killer!â the Gentle Prince continued hollering. Clearly, he didnât want to give Blue Maple an opportunity to recover. Everyone else was afraid of trained killers, but he wasnât. He had many bodyguards around him to protect him.
The remaining five players were no longer threats to Blue Maple. The only thing he was worried about was the last player, because the old man said there were just enough when nine of them arrived, but he was still one player away from completing his quest. He didnât know what the old man was cooking in his cauldron. Perhaps the old man could be suddenly sending someone to land the killing blow on Blue Maple when the remaining five players advancedâŚ
------
A few moments later, the weakest attendant was the last to die, falling to the ground unwillingly as his eyes burst with fearâŚ
Blue Maple still didnât have a chance to recover when the old manâs annoying voice rang out once more in the air.
âNot bad, you little rascal. Youâve dealt with everything just like that, but I think Iâve made a mistake in my calculations, and youâre missing one player from completing your quest. HeheâŚâ
Damned if I believe you, was Blue Mapleâs first reaction. Clearly, the old man was holding one person back, and Blue Maple managed to figure some things out as he thought about the last remaining player. He just stood where he was, not reacting at all.
âYou wish to regain your strength? Donât worry, I will restore you to your peak condition afterwards.â
Blue Maple just stood there and remained silent. The old man couldnât tell what he was thinking at all.
âHey, you rascal, will it hurt you to ask questions proactively?
âListen up, I will assign a target to you shortly now, and I will restore that person to his peak condition just like I will for you. I will even restore your movement speeds for a showdown.â
âAs for that person, let me seeâŚ
âStop pretending. Youâre talking about that idiot, arenât you?â Blue Maple interrupted, which was rather uncharacteristic of him, and he turned towards Blue Snow.
âEh?! Me?â Blue Snow pointed at herself blankly, before she suddenly understood what he said and exclaimed, âHey, gangster, who are you calling idiot?â She suddenly put on a furious look, and was very cute.
âAhem, uh, yes, I am talking about her. This girl is quite impressive, and she should be able to fight you if I adjust her condition in the same fashion.
âWhat do you think about my idea? Not bad, right? You and this little girl have been angering me anyway, so I will let you guys fight each other. Donât worry, your levels wonât drop, so just let me appreciate the fight.â
Blue Snow was about to speak as a despicable look appeared on her face when the old man continued, âYou must fight, because the little rascal will not be able to complete his quest if you donât, and your level will drop by one, little girl.â
âWhat, you stinky old man? How can you do that?â
âYou are not allowed to call me stinky old man! You have to respect your elders!â
âHmph, but you are!â Blue Snow pouted angrily.
âWhat do you think, rascal? Isnât this interesting and simple? You will complete your quest with just one battle, and this should be relatively simple for you.â
âHmph, so be it. Let me see how powerful you are, gangster. Our levels wonât drop anyway.â Blue Snow drew her sword as she spoke.
âThatâs more like it.â
Blue Maple suddenly uttered something completely ridiculous after remaining silent throughout the conversation, âDo I have to kill her once?â
The old man and Blue Snow were both stunned. The old manâs intentions were already very clear; Blue Maple had practically passed his test already. He wanted to test whether Blue Mapleâs personality was suitable towards the end, and there wouldnât be any more real challenges.
âUh, nonsense. What, your level isnât going to drop, and Iâm going to tune down your ability to sense pain, so you wonât feel any pain. Whatâs wrong with another proper fight?â
Blue Maple suddenly bent down, picked up the dagger on the ground, and tossed it before Blue Snow.
Clang!
âYes, thatâs all quite interesting. But Iâm tired.â And then he turned and left.